Tuesday, December 9, 2014

A Day in the Life of Swift's Ambassadors

10 hours on your feet. 10 seconds between buses, hopping on and off. More than 12,000 average fare checks a month.*

Welcome to the world of the Swift Ambassador.

Recently, I shadowed two of our three Swift Ambassadors to get a glimpse of their workday on
Community Transit’s highest ridership route. This, and an interview or two gave
me a taste of what the job is like, along with some tips for riding on Swift shared below.

"Don’t Forget to Wear Comfortable shoes!”

That’s the advice I got from Will and Mario when we planned
our meet-up at the Swift station on northbound 148th and Hwy 99. While
I wasn’t planning on wearing high
heels (geez, guys, give me some credit), it’s sound advice whenever
you’re taking public transportation.

For three hours, Mario and I got on and off the bus at
several Swift stations between 148th
and Casino Road (between North Lynnwood and South Everett). Fare enforcement probably comes to mind when you think about
what Ambassadors do, but there is more to their job than that.“Swift Ambassadors are 'Customer Service First',” says Mario. “Under that umbrella is fare enforcement, payment education, etc.”

On this
particular day:

Ambassadors & Transit Police often work together on the Swift line.

Each station we visited got a quick once over to
make sure ticket machines and ORCA scanners were up and running. If there’s
garbage, it’s picked up. It’s rare to see a messy Swift station. Now you know
why.

Swift stations are notorious for serving as
shopping cart parking. Those had to be moved to a safer spot so at not to roll
out onto traffic.

Hugs. As we were riding northbound and picked up
folks at the 112th St. Station, a regular passenger recognized Mario
and gave him a big hug hello as she boarded. She was a tiny, older lady wearing
a pink baseball hat giving a big ole bear hug to a man almost two feet taller
than she.

There’s a learning curve when it comes to using
Swift for the first time. A passenger at the Airport Road Station was a little
lost and needed direction on where to go. When you are a Swift Ambassador, you
are a walking BusPlus book. A friendly one, at that.

I witnessed firsthand the friendly interaction
and the smooth handoff between Ambassadors and Transit Police. Whether a fare
hasn’t been paid or a passenger has an outstanding warrant (you’d be surprised
how many our Ambassadors have uncovered when doing a fare check), passengers
are treated with courtesy and respect.

In their own words

On what they like
most about their job.

“Some might be surprised, but the best part of my job,
honestly, is the people. While a few angry or disgruntled passengers might make
the day seem a little longer, the vast majority are decent people who
appreciate the ride and the work we do,” – Ambassador Nick

“I like the overall diversity of the passengers I encounter
daily onboard Swift.” – Ambassador Mario

On their most rewarding
experience on the job.

“My most rewarding experience was when someone heeds advice
and makes a positive change in their life—and then comes back to give thanks
for the good advice.” – Ambassador Will

“I helped a gentleman reach his destination and family—he
did not speak English, only Chinese. He was alone and had just arrived from
Texas; he had never been to Western Washington. Through mutual trust and
communicating with our hands, I was able to ensure he reached his destination.
He and his family were grateful; it was really rewarding!” – Ambassador Mario

What misconception
about your job would you like to clear up?

“It’s not personal! I’m employed to check the fares of every
passenger on every Swift bus I board. If you haven’t paid and I ask you to exit
the bus and buy a ticket, I don’t think you are a bad person or form any judgment
about you-- I just want you to pay the fare.” – Ambassador Nick

And now for the tips

Have your
fare ready.

“Be patient and stay calm. It can be annoying when you are
trying to buy a ticket and the bus shows up before you have completed your transaaction. Swift is fast, frequent service for a reason. The next bus will be
along sooner than you expect.” – Ambassador Will

The ORCA
Card makes paying the fare easy. One tap of the card on the reader and
you’re good to go. I had trouble getting it to read correctly because I was
failing to tap the card in the center of the reader. I finally got it down
after the third boarding. Nothing like that “read error” beep and an
approaching bus to get you to do it right the first time!

ORCA Card
Tip from Swift Ambassador Will: if you leave your Swift card against the
reader, the information on the screen will remain until you remove your card. Note: this only works on transactions where
the screen doesn’t tell you to “Please try again” or “Insufficient Funds."

Don’t
skip paying your fare. Just. Don’t. After five years riding Swift, the
Ambassadors have fine-tuned their methods of visually identifying fare evaders.
I won’t expose their methods here, but I can assure you there is no smoke and
mirrors used. Just good old-fashioned observation, legwork and getting to know
our Swift riders.

Don’t be
offended if you’re asked to show proof of payment. If you happen to be on
the bus when an Ambassador boards, everyone on board will be asked to show
their ORCA card, receipt or reduced fare pass— it doesn’t matter if you’re a
regular Swift rider and you think the
Ambassadors should “know” you. Fare enforcement is just part of the job.

Have your fare ready.

“Some of the riders think that when
I’m checking their fare, I am suspecting them and/or accusing them of stealing.
This could be farther from the truth! It is my job to check fares of all
passengers," says, Ambassador Will.

So, there you have it-- a Swift glimpse of an Ambassador's day. Are there other Community Transit jobs you've been curious about? Let us know in the comments! It may become our next blog post.

* Average monthly fare checks
conducted by all three Swift Ambassadors

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